The perfect 3w

[OspreyCI]

On 12/13/2023 at 12:02 PM, OspreyCI said:

TSR2… done…close this thread😂

This did not age well for me… revoke my WRX card. Sold the TSR2 and now in a Stealth+😳

Edited December 31, 2023 by OspreyCI

[byoshio82]

2 minutes ago, OspreyCI said:

This did not age well for me… rework my WRX card. Sold the TSR2 and now in a Stealth+😳

This just means you’re A true WRX’er!

[Radeon962]

36 minutes ago, OspreyCI said:

This did not age well for me… revoke my WRX card. Sold the TSR2 and now in a Stealth+😳

How was dispersion with the Stealth+?  I hit it long off the tee but did not care for it much from the deck.

 

I rarely hit 3w off the tee and use it more from the deck.  I’m currently doing battle with a TSR2 and G430 Max.  
 

TSR2 is longer from tee and deck but G430 is just so easy to elevate and wants to go straight. I’m learning G430 due to dispersion. 

[OspreyCI]

14 minutes ago, Radeon962 said:

How was dispersion with the Stealth+?  I hit it long off the tee but did not care for it much from the deck.

 

I rarely hit 3w off the tee and use it more from the deck.  I’m currently doing battle with a TSR2 and G430 Max.  
 

TSR2 is longer from tee and deck but G430 is just so easy to elevate and wants to go straight. I’m learning G430 due to dispersion. 

I have only demo’d the Stealth+ in the store and several tiles on the course. Like you, I only really use a 3 wood off the deck. I really liked what I saw. 
 

I really did not feel the same explosiveness from the TSR like I do from TM fairways. Not sure that helps much. 

[Radeon962]

10 hours ago, OspreyCI said:

I have only demo’d the Stealth+ in the store and several tiles on the course. Like you, I only really use a 3 wood off the deck. I really liked what I saw. 
 

I really did not feel the same explosiveness from the TSR like I do from TM fairways. Not sure that helps much. 

For me in Michigan, this time of year is the worst for equipment pondering. I buy a lot more when I can’t play. 
 

More clubs coming in as the prices drop just makes deciding what to keep and what to sell a merry-go-round of clubs.

 

Then there is the new stuff coming in the next few months that I want and have not even hit yet.

 

 

[Lemonde]

53 minutes ago, Radeon962 said:

For me in Michigan, this time of year is the worst for equipment pondering. I buy a lot more when I can’t play. 
 

More clubs coming in as the prices drop just makes deciding what to keep and what to sell a merry-go-round of clubs.

 

Then there is the new stuff coming in the next few months that I want and have not even hit yet.

 

 

I’m from the Toronto area.  What you said. 

[Jimi Thing]

Paradym td 13.5 with Kaili white. Since I have a 17uw the 3w is a tee only club. Have a fairly smooth tempo and swing driver at 100mph exactly. This set up should not work. 
 

but it is excellent. Low spin, naturally falls to the right and is plenty forgiving while being darn long for me. Great tee alternative for driver which naturally falls to the left. 
 

depending on the hole I can now pick a target left or right side of the fw and go after it. Best quality of this stick might be that it keeps my driver very honest. That thing is on its best behaviour ever since the 3w is in. 
 

and oh yeah, never intended to hit it if the fw but find myself doing that fairly often on 2 of the par 5’s where a fade is favoured. Not launching high but very playable and long still

[uglande]

I just did a head-to-head in a simulator between a Stealth 2 (15.0) and a TSR2+ (14.5). My senses were telling me that the Stealth was more powerful and was easier to launch, but when I looked at the numbers, they were nearly identical. Both heads are about the same size (185cc v. 190cc), but the TSR2+ won it for me based on versatility. The Stealth 2 has a ridiculously shut face ... I could only play right-to-left shots with it. The Titleist is more neutral, and also adjustable.

[PARETO]

On 12/10/2023 at 7:27 PM, RolandofGilead said:

Similar vintage: TaylorMade V Steel with a UST Proforce V2. Larger than the Titleist 975/980 but smaller than current fairways, it’s still a great club.

Still my fairway woods of choice. Stock MAAS shafts cut down 3/4 inch. CP2 wrap grips. I’m sure there are better options for me out there (duh) but I’ve had these for so long (since new) that I know what they can and cannot do so well.   

[jda]

To me, most 3w are too light nowadays.  A while ago, 3w was the easiest club for anybody to get right... weight on the bottom, heavier shaft and every brand had a good one.  The shift towards club speed and away from ball speed has hurt 3 woods, IMO.

 

Now, they are all too light and and the dispersion in effectiveness is gone.

 

I play a TSi3 now with a heavier weight in it and a few strips of lead tape.  Before this, 3 woods from the 2012-2015/2016 era were just as good as newer ones.  I am nearly positive that I could play any 3 wood with a suitable shaft if I put a bit more weight in it, but people at the golf shops are not all that happy when you start applying lead tape to their new clubs.

[HillbillyHoma]

The perfect 3 wood is a mini driver. Most revert to using a 3 wood off the tee when their driver acts up. For most, a 3 wood is even more difficult to hit than a driver. Especially for those only use a 3 wood off of the tee, a mini driver is the answer. Had my best driving day of the year when I put my driver away and only used the mini. Hit nearly every fairway. Can hit it off of the deck too if needed. 

[Eeecc]

Loving an oldie MP Ti metal (Japanese version of Mizuno MP 650). Wanted a Ti head but didn’t want to fork $300+ for the Sim2 Ti.

 

 

[dropkicked]

Titleist 917F3, diamana blueboard...  I'll cry when this head lets go.

[Gtyler14]

I cycled through so many 3 wood head since I was stupid and got rid of my 16 m1. M2,M3,M4,M5, a few sim heads and tour issue heads, sim2 and stealth before trying tsi2 16.5 with a ventus black 8x and it’s been the best thing for me. I’ll try other stuff just to try because I like to do that but the tsi2 has been great for me.

[Drivingrangehero]

Tour Edge EXS Pro has my vote with the the Cobra F9 Speedback Tour coming in a close second. 
 

They both produced a nice penetrating flight for me, but allowed me to flight and shape them better than the rest, although they were not true 3 woods, but a 3w HL 16.5° (EXS Pro) and a 4-5w 16°-19° (Cobra F9) 

 

For a modern 3 wood (under 16°) I liked the Tour Edge CB Pro f2 head, just not a fan of the stock Kuro Kage shaft 

[Ri_Redneck]

On 12/30/2023 at 2:27 PM, cw1209 said:

 

Funny you say that about Smoke Yellow. Never got a lot of love when it came out. Made a brief appearance in a few tour bags. Cam Smith had it in driver before Ventus I think. Came stock with my Cobra SZ fairways and I should have given it more of a chance. From what I remember smoke yellow has a nice feel to it, but benched it in favor of something more exotic.  I see you have the small batch version with the large butt OD. Seemed like a softer tipped version of OG Yellow/RDX Blue and a good fit for fairways. May have to give this shaft a run again! 

 

So much about finding the right 3 wood is finding the right shaft to go with it. 

Yeah, it has kind of a bizarre taper to it. The OD at the b u t t is larger, but measured at the HZRDUS symbol, its a .4" SMALLER than the same location on my other HZRDUS shafts! I had to get creative with the tape to get my preferred grip taper. Makes a great FW shaft though. Tight and smooth all at the same time and it seems FAST when I swing it. My FW distances jumped a bit (7-10 yds) when I went to it. I may grab a few more for backups before they disappear completely.

 

BT

[Freeze]

On 12/13/2023 at 8:22 AM, nitram said:

My GOAT 3WD continues to be the Tour Edge Exotics CB2 15* with an OG Diamana Whiteboard 73X. After 7 years and countless thousands of balls hit I cratered the face. I searched in futility for over two years to find a new one. So, I went back to it's original replacement, the OG Taylormade V-Steel, with the Diamana X'12, and played it for a few years. Then Taylormade offered the "New V-Steel" in the SIM. In the same time frame I went back and tried the "new" Exotics offerings (CBX and CBX 119) and they were really good performers, and even better to look at, just not as good as the CB2. Around this time Mitsubish Chemical introduced the updated X shaft, the X'17.

 

One day a couple years ago I was building a new Titleist TSi 3 15* with an X'12. Over the course of the season I was able to hit it and really liked everything about it. I ended up building me the same head with an X'17 and have been gaming it ever since. It's still not the "performer" the CB2 is/was, but alas, it's time I get with the "times" and move on down the golf trail.

 

But man, if I could only find a CB2 15* head, in mint condition . . .

I go down this rabbit hole every few years and always come back to the CB2 with the stock stiff shaft. Fortunately I have several in new-to-excellent condition for backups (same for the matching 5 wood). Currently about to give a Stealth 2 HD a trial but doubt very much it will replace the CB2; nothing feels as good off the face. Club is a cannon. Side note, the CB2 seven wood is also awesome, but very hard to find.

[altess27]

G425 LST - Fujikura Ventus Black 8X

 

The lower profile is easier for me to hit off the deck whenever I really need to and it's an absolute rocket off the tee.